The present invention relates to techniques for mounting speakers and more specifically to a vibration reducing assembly that is flush mountable within a wall or ceiling.
The architectural or custom installed loudspeaker industry continues to gain popularity each year. The shortcomings of the standard recessed, flush-mount loudspeaker product have likewise become more generally known. More specifically, sound quality is often far from ideal due to physical limitations regarding the standard gypsum-based wall/ceiling board material to which custom loudspeaker assemblies are most commonly installed. Problems arise when vibration from the installed speaker is coupled to the wall/ceiling to which the speaker mounting assembly is mounted. The wall/ceiling, excited by the loudspeaker's vibration, begins to vibrate and emit unwanted acoustic information. This acoustic information is essentially a distortion of the original signal, degrading the originally intended output signal. Generally speaking, a limiting factor to accurate sound reproduction of a custom installed loudspeaker system is the vibration induced acoustic output of the material in which the loudspeaker system is installed. One approach to reducing wall/ceiling vibration is by means of decoupling the vibration producing elements of the loudspeaker system from the wall/ceiling material in which they become installed.
Ease of installation has and continues to be a significant topic in the industry since custom installation costs are directly related to the amount of time it takes an installer to complete the mounting of the loudspeaker system. Since more and more homes and commercial establishments are seeking the space saving and aesthetic improvements offered through custom installed loudspeaker systems, the ease of installation, the cost reductions associated therewith and the reduction in the risk of damage to the speaker system and the wall/ceiling mounting area during the final installation of the loudspeaker are important factors within the industry.
Previous attempts have been made to provide decoupled, suspended, or damped loudspeaker assemblies where unwanted vibration is either absorbed or the transmission of this vibration is in some way reduced, and a number of patents describe methods of absorbing unwanted vibration, reducing the transmission of unwanted vibration, or canceling vibration energies. Other patents describe methods for simplifying the installation of loudspeaker assemblies in walls/ceilings using various fastening methods that do not require tools or special equipment.
None of the loudspeaker mounting systems known in the art describe a loudspeaker assembly in which a simple means for securing the loudspeaker mounting assembly to the wall/ceiling that does not require the use of tools also provides the means of decoupling vibrations to the wall/ceiling surrounding the loudspeaker mounting assembly. It would therefore be desirable to have a loudspeaker mounting assembly that could be readily mounted within a wall/ceiling without the use of tools and which also effectively decouples vibrations to the surrounding wall/ceiling so as to reduce distortion of the acoustic signals.